Group shows by artists, be they photographers or painters, serve as a platform to disseminate diverse ideas. But the quality of works on display is seldom consistent. The rather densely titled Fields of Depth, an exhibition of photographs compiled by artists from Calcutta and Santiniketan,which was presented by Ganges Art Gallery in collaboration with Art Multi-disciplines (Nov 18-Jan 6), brought together versatile visions. But, as is often the case with such exhibitions, the technical expertise and the depth of ideas among the participating artists - there were eight of them - demonstrated a marked unevenness.

The ornamental edge in Jayashree Chakravarty's images lent them a degree of vacuity. Chandra Bhattacharjee's stark, dystopian vision, best captured in the image titled, Prophets (picture), struck a dissonant note in the light of Chakravarty's embellishment. Ecological degradation was a common theme explored by Bhattacharjee and Prasanta Sahu. But Sahu is yet to find a visual language that is arresting.

What added to the sense of foreboding was Rishi Barua's exploration of abandonment: the rooms with scribbled walls, offering a glimpse of dense foliage that seems to have taken over the space outside, made the tone of the Dream, Desire, Memory series despondent.

Arindam Chatterjee's quirky take on the Poet revisiting Santiniketan did little to lift the spirits.